Claire's is a retailer of accessories and jewelry to girls and young women, created in 1961, with its headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. As of October 27, 2012, Claire's has 3,469 stores in 36 countries: 1,947 in North America (United States & Canada), 1,141 in Europe (United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Spain, Ireland, Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Italy), and 381 franchised and licensed stores elsewhere in the world (Japan, Middle East, India, Mexico, Turkey, Ukraine, Greece, Malta, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Venezuela, and Dominican Republic)[3] Their stores are in 95% of all U.S. shopping malls, and Claire's has done more ear piercings than any other retailer, over 80 million in 25+ years.[4]